Medieval Warfare on the Grid: The Case of Manzikert

Project start date: 2007-04

Project end date: 2011-09

The Medieval Warfare on the Grid project (MWGrid) employs e-science methods and tools to support historical research into logistics of medieval war. The battle of Manzikert (modern Malazgirt, Turkey) in 1071, between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks, is the subject of this investigation. This key event, which paved the way for Turkish settlement in eastern Anatolia, has been previously studied through comparative historical analysis. However, due to limited sources and the lack of comprehensive analytical methods, its logistics remain a subject of speculation. MWGrid investigates how early military logistics may be addressed by modelling these systems as Multi-Agent Systems (MAS), using the logistical operation undertaken by the Byzantine Empire in crossing Anatolia prior to the Battle of Manzikert as a case study. Using agent-based modelling and distributed simulation, the project seeks to explore military behaviour. Specifically, the project is addressing the questions of numbers of men involved and the route taken by the Byzantine Army. The use of a distributed Access Grid analysis, digital terrain mapping, computer visualisation and agent-based modelling, will enhance knowledge about how medieval states collected and distributed resources to maintain armies. This project benefits from the co-operation of experts in disciplines including History, Earth Sciences and Palaeo-environmental Science, Archaeology and Archaeological Surveying and Mapping. Generation of image and moies files from CSV data though python and blender into .avi or .mpg format for visual dissemination. Generation of scenario descriptions to various formats from XML data for general dissemination.